AN ACT EXEMPTING FROM FEDERAL REGULATION UNDER
THE COMMERCE CLAUSE OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES A FIREARM, A
FIREARM ACCESSORY, OR AMMUNITION MANUFACTURED AND RETAINED IN
MONTANA ; AND PROVIDING AN APPLICABILITY
DATE.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF
MONTANA :

Section 1. Short title.
[Sections 1 through 6] may be cited as the "Montana Firearms Freedom
Act".

Section 2. Legislative declarations of
authority. The legislature declares that the authority for [sections
1 through 6] is the following:

(1) The 10th
amendment to the United States
constitution guarantees to the states and their people all powers not granted
to the federal government elsewhere in the constitution and reserves to the
state and people of Montana certain powers as
they were understood at the time that Montana
was admitted to statehood in 1889. The guaranty of those powers is a matter of
contract between the state and people of Montana
and the United States as of
the time that the compact with the United States
was agreed upon and adopted by Montana and the
United States
in 1889.

(2) The ninth
amendment to the United States
constitution guarantees to the people rights not granted in the constitution
and reserves to the people of Montana certain
rights as they were understood at the time that
Montana was admitted to statehood in 1889.
The guaranty of those rights is a matter of contract between the state and
people of Montana and the
United States as of the time that the compact
with the United States was
agreed upon and adopted by Montana and the
United States
in 1889.

(3) The regulation
of intrastate commerce is vested in the states under the 9th and 10th
amendments to the United
States constitution, particularly if not
expressly preempted by federal law. Congress has not expressly preempted state
regulation of intrastate commerce pertaining to the manufacture on an
intrastate basis of firearms, firearms accessories, and ammunition.

(4) The second
amendment to the United States constitution reserves to the people the right to
keep and bear arms as that right was understood at the time that Montana was
admitted to statehood in 1889, and the guaranty of the right is a matter of
contract between the state and people of Montana and the United States as of
the time that the compact with the United States was agreed upon and adopted by
Montana and the United States in 1889.

(5) Article II,
section 12, of the Montana constitution
clearly secures to Montana citizens, and
prohibits government interference with, the right of individual
Montana citizens to keep
and bear arms. This constitutional protection is unchanged from the 1889
Montana constitution, which was approved by congress and
the people of Montana , and the right exists as
it was understood at the time that the compact with the
United States was agreed upon and adopted by
Montana and the
United States in 1889.

Section 3. Definitions. As used
in [sections 1 through 6], the following definitions apply:

(1) "Borders
of Montana " means the boundaries of
Montana described in Article I, section 1, of the 1889
Montana constitution.

(2) "Firearms
accessories" means items that are used in conjunction with or mounted upon
a firearm but are not essential to the basic function of a firearm, including
but not limited to telescopic or laser sights, magazines, flash or sound
suppressors, folding or aftermarket stocks and grips, speedloaders, ammunition
carriers, and lights for target illumination.

(3) "Generic
and insignificant parts" includes but is not limited to springs, screws,
nuts, and pins.

(4)
"Manufactured" means that a firearm, a firearm accessory, or
ammunition has been created from basic materials for functional usefulness,
including but not limited to forging, casting, machining, or other processes
for working materials.

Section 4. Prohibitions. A
personal firearm, a firearm accessory, or ammunition that is manufactured
commercially or privately in Montana and that remains within the borders of
Montana is not subject to federal law or federal regulation, including
registration, under the authority of congress to regulate interstate commerce.
It is declared by the legislature that those items have not traveled in
interstate commerce. This section applies to a firearm, a firearm accessory, or
ammunition that is manufactured in Montana
from basic materials and that can be manufactured without the inclusion of any
significant parts imported from another state. Generic and insignificant parts
that have other manufacturing or consumer product applications are not
firearms, firearms accessories, or ammunition, and their importation into
Montana and incorporation into a firearm, a firearm
accessory, or ammunition manufactured in Montana
does not subject the firearm, firearm accessory, or ammunition to federal
regulation. It is declared by the legislature that basic materials, such as
unmachined steel and unshaped wood, are not firearms, firearms accessories, or
ammunition and are not subject to congressional authority to regulate firearms,
firearms accessories, and ammunition under interstate commerce as if they were
actually firearms, firearms accessories, or ammunition. The authority of
congress to regulate interstate commerce in basic materials does not include
authority to regulate firearms, firearms accessories, and ammunition made in
Montana from those
materials. Firearms accessories that are imported into Montana
from another state and that are subject to federal regulation as being in
interstate commerce do not subject a firearm to federal regulation under
interstate commerce because they are attached to or used in conjunction with a
firearm in Montana .